25 Secrets About the Making of Disney's Aladdin, and the Brand-New Footage of Robin Williams

Disney's D23 convention has become famous for breaking news and announcing new movie franchises, but it doesn't get enough credit for what it truly does best—make magic. And that's exactly what it did Saturday night by reuniting the animators, writers, and actors from the 1992 classic, Aladdin. Here are 25 secrets you didn't know, plus major news about never-before-seen footage from Robin Williams. 1. Director/producer/writer Ron Clements revealed that he and Disney partner John Musker had come off writing and directing The Little Mermaid when they were offered to direct Beauty and the Beast, but "turned it down because we were too tired." Taking that time off allowed them to recharge in time for Aladdin. 2. Howard Ashman was in preproduction on story development and lyrics when he passed away early on in the film's production. According to Clements, "Tim Rice came on to complete the score." 3. You'd never know it now, but Aladdin was considered a risky departure from some of Disney's previous animated films. "Disney hadn't done a movie that wasn't a classic, a fairytale," explains Clements. "The idea with Aladdin was to go in a slightly different direction. It had a more irreverent tone where it

Disney's D23 convention has become famous for breaking news and announcing new movie franchises, but it doesn't get enough credit for what it truly does best—make magic. And that's exactly what it did Saturday night by reuniting the animators, writers, and actors from the 1992 classic, Aladdin. Here are 25 secrets you didn't know, plus major news about never-before-seen footage from Robin Williams.

1. Director/producer/writer Ron Clements revealed that he and Disney partner John Musker had come off writing and directing The Little Mermaid when they were offered to direct Beauty and the Beast, but "turned it down because we were too tired." Taking that time off allowed them to recharge in time for Aladdin.

2. Howard Ashman was in preproduction on story development and lyrics when he passed away early on in the film's production. According to Clements, "Tim Rice came on to complete the score."

3. You'd never know it now, but Aladdin was considered a risky departure from some of Disney's previous animated films. "Disney hadn't done a movie that wasn't a classic, a fairytale," explains Clements. "The idea with Aladdin was to go in a slightly different direction. It had a more irreverent tone where it could wink at the audience and be more comedic." Of course, that wouldn't have been possible without the casting of Robin Williams as the Genie.

4. Character designer and supervising animator Eric Goldberg was specifically brought into the Disney fold to create the Genie. He would later go on to direct Pocahontas.

5. It was somewhat of a Full House reunion on the Aladdin panel. Not only was Scott Weinger (D.J.'s boyfriend, Steve) the voice of Aladdin, but supervising animator Mark Henn appeared in the Disney episode of Full House when Uncle Joey went to visit him at his animation desk. Henn was responsible for creating Princess Jasmine, and is affectionately known as the go-to guy if you ever have a question on how to animate a princess.

6. Weinger also played the role of Aladdin in the Disney World episode of Full House, which aired in 1993.__

7. Eric Goldberg revealed that Disney didn't know if they would be able to get Robin Williams for the role of the Genie. So how did they? Ron Clements and John Musker had Goldberg animate some of Williams' comedic sketches from an album he did. Williams saw it and signed on.

8. Goldberg based the Genie on the drawings of caricaturist Al Hirschfeld. Also, even before Williams signed on, Clements and Musker wrote the role of the Genie with Williams in mind.

9. There's a very specific reason why there's an "Applause" sign at the end of "A Friend Like Me." During various previews of the film, the audiences weren't applauding at the end of that production number, which frustrated Disney producer Jeffrey Katzenberg. In an effort to both appease and likely annoy Katzenberg, Goldberg put an applause sign in at the end. "It actually worked!" revealed an amused Musker. "Audiences applauded!"

10. It was Robin Williams' idea to mimic the sound of Pinnochio's nose growing on Genie's head in one scene. Clements and Musker decided it had to be in the film, but because the audience's laughter was so massive to the scene, they had to add extra time/beats immediately afterward.

11. Legendary composer-songwriter Alan Menken added The Little Mermaid's Sebastian the Crab into a scene with the Genie. If you look closely, you'll also notice that in a scene where the Sultan is piling a bunch of toys on top of each other, one of those is the Beast from Beauty and the Beast.

12. The inspiration for Princess Jasmine came from an unlikely source: Mark Henn's younger sister, Beth. "I was having some artist block," says Henn of designing the Princess. "I was coming off [designing] Ariel and Belle, and was starting to run out of ideas." So what happened next is a tale of Disney magic. "I pulled out my sister Beth's high school graduation photo and thought there was something there." Another fascinating piece of information? Originally Henn was going to sketch Aladdin's mother, who had a major part in the film, but then "she went away and the role of Jasmine grew in the new version."

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13. Both Aladdin's (Scott Weinger, who did the voice of Aladdin, and Brad Kane, who did the singing voice) are now writers and supervising producers. Weinger is a producer on ABC's Black-ish and Galavant, while Kane is a producer on Black Sails, and former shows like Fringe and Crash.

14. Linda Larkin (the voice of Jasmine) auditioned in California, but didn't meet the animators at the time. Her audition scene? The marketplace scene. When Musker heard the audition, he thought it had "such a musical, appealing quality."

15. Larkin also didn't see any of the footage while she was recording. "I only saw some of the storyboards and images, but didn't see anything until [a screening at the Museum of Modern Art] in Los Angeles," recalls Larkin.

__16.__Weinger recalls his mom telling him that after work one day (on a sitcom he co-starred in called Family Man), he was going to have an audition for some cartoon. "I had no idea what a big deal this movie would be," explains Weinger. "If I would have known it wasn't some little cartoon, I would have probably tanked [the audition]." When the producers eventually called him back for a second audition, Weinger had gone home to Florida, so he recorded it from there with his mom running lines with him.

17. Kane (Aladdin's singing voice) told the audience that he gets numerous requests from fans to sing "A Whole New World" with them, but always declines. "It's such a special song and such a beautiful experience [that I got to do on the film] that I wanted to keep that [for me]," explains Kane. It's not unusual, of course. The MuppetsFrank Oz relayed the same explanation to us at the Inside Out premiere. But when Kane was dating the woman who would eventually become his wife, he told the audience that she wanted him to sing it with her as well. "I said, When we get married, I will sing the song with you in front of everyone, and we did.' I sang it that one time and I've never sang it with anyone else since." Kane kept true to his word until last night, when he surprised the audience by singing the song with Nick Pitera (singing Jasmine's vocals), who in addition to his work at Pixar, has made a career out of doing Disney voices on his YouTube channel.

20. Goldberg also revealed that Williams' was so committed to his performance that by the end of each recording session, "he was drenched. He gave it 198 percent." Echoed Clements: "There was a genuine warmth to Robin that went beyond the comedy. What a great, great human being. It made the character more than just shtick. Even though he breaks the fourth wall, you still believe in that character."

21. When Robin Williams passed away last August, it was Eric Goldberg who drew the poignant image tribute to Robin with the Genie looking down on the lamp from heaven. Originally though, Goldberg revealed he made (in his mind) a "terrible version that I threw out. Even my wife was like, 'Yeah, no.'" But the final version "is who he is," says Goldberg. "His spirit is going to live on for decades, eons, because he was such a great, warm guy. I hope this drawing embodies that and all the joy he brought to everybody."

22. Larkin (Jasmine) and Weinger (Aladdin) did one recording session with Williams where all three of them were together. "Usually it was separate," explained Larkin, but "this one day it was all together." The scene? Where the Genie is disguising himself as a bumble bee and says, "Beeee yourself!"

23. Weinger still records his voice for various Aladdin-related projects.

24. What is Ron Clements favorite scene? "The Genie's song where the Genie is strutting in the spotlight with these gigantic hands and he does this little Cab Calloway dance. I remember when I saw that scene for the first time, I said, Woah, this is going to work.'"

25. Meanwhile, Mark Henn's favorite scene is a look that Jasmine gives Aladdin. "It was a reaction of Jasmine's where she and Aladdin are sitting on the top of the building and you know she knows who he is and he's squirming. She gives him a look, and it's a great look. And the very last shot of "A Whole New World" and the two heads come together and it's just a reflection shot."

Stay tuned for more Disney secrets from D23 coming soon, but in the meantime, make sure you check out our interview with Disney director-producer Don Hahn about why many Disney heroines don't have mothers, and more secrets. For photos from Walt's former home, click here.